The Prisoner Of Stone/Part 5
Vanity and Sassette decided that they would head straight for the village first. "If we hurry, maybe we can get some Smurfs to help us," Vanity said. "We won't have much of a choice if most of the Smurfs have been smurfed by the hate spell, Vanity," Sassette said. "It would have to be either Tapper or Empath." "Let's hope that at least one of them can smurf with us, Sassette," Vanity said. They soon reached the village, where they saw Grandpa Smurf try to singlehandedly deal with Snappy and Nat trying to get at each other. "Smurfatooties...I'd sure like to go with you, but I'm afraid that I already have my hands full," he said woefully. Vanity and Sassette saw that the adult Smurfs were now throwing food at each other. One of them threw a ripe tomato right into Vanity's face, splattering him. "Hey, not the face!" he cried out. Tapper showed up to talk to Vanity and Sassette. "What happened to Papa Smurf, my fellow Smurfs?" he asked. "Chlorhydris captured him and Cupid just when we were smurfing to her castle to get his quiver of arrows back, Tapper," Vanity answered. "Yeah, and now we need to smurf to that cave where we found Drusilla and Manfred and smurf this magic pellet to turn that stone statue back into a human before sundown, or Pappy and Cupid are going to be smurfed with hate," Sassette added. "I would like to suggest taking Empath with you, but he's the last hope we have to smurfing this village in order, youngsters," Grandpa Smurf said. "Then I might as well smurf with Vanity and Sassette, Grandpa Smurf," Tapper said. "They could smurf all the help they can get to smurf that human out of that evil woman's hands." "I know that you have no fear of danger with that faith of yours, Tapper," Grandpa Smurf said. "All righty then...I'll try to smurf what I can to keep this village together while you three go rescue that human." "Let's get going already," Sassette said, eager to lead the other two Smurfs to Drusilla's cave. "Good luck there, youngsters," Grandpa Smurf said as he picked up Snappy and Nat in each arm while watching the other three Smurfs head back into the forest. ----- Meanwhile, Empath was still in the infirmary watching over Polaris Psyche, who was still lying there on the bed with his eyes closed. "Polaris, this smurf doesn't know if you can hear this smurf or not, but this smurf wants to let you know that you have been the best friend that this smurf had since we were living together in Psychelia," he said to the unconscious Polaris. "This isn't how this smurf would want to spend Smurfy Friendship Day with you, but this smurf doesn't regret teaching you everything you know about the Smurfs, even if at first you were repulsed by their way of living like this smurf was when..." Empath then sensed that Polaris was stirring until finally his eyes snapped open. They were now blood red just like the other Smurfs' eyes were. He looked at Empath with an angry look on his face. "Filthy savage!" Suddenly Empath was thrown through the wall of the infirmary as Polaris punched him so hard that he ended up flying. "You dare to touch a Psyche and contaminate his mind with thoughts and ideas that don't belong to a true Psyche, for the years we have known each other," Polaris said, speaking with barely restrained fury. "You should be punished." "Polaris, it's me, Empath Smurf," Empath said as he picked himself up from the ground while Polaris came closer. "Don't you recognize who this smurf is?" Polaris punched him again, this time sending him flying into the wall of another Smurf house. "How dare you try to turn this one into the image of your savage perverted tribe," he shouted. "You are not even fit for the mercy of the Psyche Master." "Polaris, listen to this smurf," Empath said as he rose up again to face his friend. "This is a spell of hate that you're under, that is affecting your mind as well as the other Smurfs." "Don't try to deceive me with your reasoning, savage!" Polaris yelled. Polaris tried to punch him again, but Empath countered his moves and delivered one of his own to knock Polaris down. "This smurf doesn't want to hurt you, Polaris, but this smurf has got to stop you from..." Polaris struck back, picking up Empath and hurling him through the window of a Smurf house. He crashed through another wall and ended up bumping straight into a few Smurfs that were already fighting with each other. "This one doesn't need any help from you or your people," Polaris roared. Empath realized that he had to get Polaris away from the village before he caused anymore damage with his fighting. He quickly grabbed Polaris and flew with him toward the forest, but Polaris struggled to get himself free and instead hurled Empath toward the roof of a Smurf house, knocking over a chimney as he landed. Empath barely had time to pick himself up when he saw Polaris head straight for him, looking like he was going to pound Empath's head right into the ground with his foot. Empath quickly rolled right out of the way before Polaris landed, but then he immediately followed it with his fist, which Empath grabbed and pushed with all his might to keep it from making contact. Soon Empath was able to push Polaris away from him, causing him to crash into a wall of a Smurf house. "Please, Polaris, stop this right now," Empath cried out as he went over to see where Polaris had fallen. "This isn't how this smurf wants to..." Polaris then punched Empath many times to weaken him, then he picked him up and hurled him right over the entire village until he landed right into another Smurf house, crashing through the roof. Empath felt dazed from the amount of pounding that he received from Polaris. He had a feeling that this was going to be a drag-out fight that wasn't going to end until one of them walked out of it alive. ------ Tapper, Vanity, and Sassette finally reached the cave that the little Smurfling had found earlier. "This is where that evil witch Drusilla lives," Sassette said to the two adult Smurfs. "Oh my, that place looks absosmurfly dreadful," Vanity said with some trepidation as he looked into the cave. "We have nothing to fear as long as angels of the Almighty are protecting us, my friends," Tapper said. "Let's smurf inside and find that Manfred whom Drusilla is smurfing prisoner." The three Smurfs crept quietly into the cave, trying to make as little noise as possible so that they could get close to the witch's main chamber. They stopped in their tracks when they heard Drusilla's laughter echoing off the walls. "Uh-oh," Sassette warned her fellow Smurfs. "We'd better be real quiet." The three Smurfs got as close as they could to the witch's chambers and hid behind a rock while they saw what Drusilla was doing at this moment. She was using an old feather duster to clean the dust off the petrified Manfred. "Why, darling Manfred, you haven't aged a day for the past thirty years," she said in a shrill voice. "Wait until you see what I have prepared for our anniversary dinner." She went into the other room to bring out a serving cart and then lifted the lid from a serving bowl. "Why, it's your favorite...bat wing broth." "Well, that lady's certainly lost her marbles," Vanity said as he and the two other Smurfs watched Drusilla. "Surely the years she has spent smurfing in this cave with that man who was smurfed to stone has not been kind to her," Tapper said. "I'm not sure how you could feel any sympathy for a woman like her, Tapper," Vanity said. "I don't condone what this Drusilla did with Manfred, my fellow Vanity, but this is not the kind of life I would wish anyone to smurf, no matter how far apart from the Almighty they are," Tapper said. "Oh my, I forgot the serving spoon," Drusilla said as she looked at what was on the serving cart and noticed something missing from it. "Well, don't you go away, dear...I'll be right back." The three Smurfs watched as she went into the next room to get the serving spoon from the kitchen. "Come on, Smurfs...now's our chance," Sassette said. "All we have to do is smurf him with this magic pellet, and he will be a human again." "This almost seems too easy," Vanity said as the three of them crept out of hiding and went over to where Manfred was standing. But before Sassette could use the pellet, they found themselves with Drusilla's pet serpents slithering right into the room, causing Sassette to lose her grip on the magic pellet as she, Vanity, and Tapper ran for it. The serpents chased the three Smurfs around the main chamber. "Quick, let's smurf under the serving cart where we will be safe from the serpents," Tapper suggested. They dove under the serving cart, which the serpents were unable to fit under. But they were still able to block the Smurfs from escaping. "Shoo...go away, you slippery serpents," Vanity cried out as he shook his mirror at them. "We can't smurf underneath this cart forever, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. "Drusilla will smurf back in here soon and find out what's smurfing on if we don't rescue Manfred." "Oh, if I only had that magic pellet," Sassette said before she looked around the chamber and then saw the object lying just out of reach. "There it is!" "Now how are we going to smurf that pellet without the serpents even seeing us?" Vanity asked. Tapper looked up at the serving cart and then inspiration struck him. "Great Smurfiny Crickets...that's it! Vanity, Sassette, help me smurf this cart so that we can smurf it over to the pellet." "But this cart's awfully big and heavy, Tapper," Sassette said. "Smurf it with all your might, little one," Tapper said. "You too, Vanity...we can smurf this thing together if we try." The three Smurfs braced themselves under the cart and used their strength to get it to move. Soon the cart started to move, which made the serpents puzzled as they saw that it was moving without anything bigger than themselves pushing it. "Oh dear, this is really smurfing my back," Vanity groaned. "We can't give up now, Vanity," Tapper said. "We're almost there." But soon the serpents wised up and realized what was making the cart move. They positioned themselves in front of the cart and blocked it, causing the three Smurfs to continue moving as if they were still moving the cart. "I'm too delicate for this kind of work," Vanity said. "Keep pushing it, Vanity...it's getting easier," Sassette said, her eyes shut with concentration up until that moment when she opened them and realized that the cart is gone. "Oops...maybe a bit too easier." "Quick, my fellow Smurfs, run for safety," Tapper said. "I'll see if I can get the serpents off our backs." The serpents briefly chased after Vanity and Sassette until they heard a whistle that attracted their attention. "Say, you slippery serpents, let's see if you are able to catch this Smurf," Tapper taunted. The serpents came close to Tapper and tried to pounce on him, but Tapper bravely slipped around them and over them, causing them to get so tangled up in each other that they bound themselves together in a knot. "You did it, Tapper...you smurfed them together like shoe laces," Sassette said as he joined her and Vanity underneath the serving cart. "I'm afraid that's not going to keep them smurfed for long, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. "We still have to smurf our hands on that magic pellet again, and the serpents are the only things that are blocking it." "There's got to be some other way that we can smurf that magic pellet, isn't there?" Vanity asked. "I'll have to think about it, Vanity, though if our friends are in danger, we don't have much time to smurf about our next plan," Tapper said. ----- In the kitchen, Drusilla was looking for the serving spoon for her bat wing broth when she saw it hanging with the other utensils. "Ah...there it is," she said as she grabbed the spoon. "I mustn't keep my beloved waiting if we're going to enjoy our romantic anniversary dinner together, even though he may not have much of an appetite over the years." She then heard the sound of her serpents hissing. "Hmmmm, it sounds like my playful pets are acting up again. I only hope that they're not annoying Manfred." Meanwhile, Vanity was still looking at the serpents while he, Tapper, and Sassette were hiding underneath the serving cart when he realized something. "Oh dear, I think that I have lost a petal from my flower," Vanity said. "Forget about your flower, Vanity," Sassette said. "We need to get that magic pellet back so we could free Manfred." "If only there was some way that we can distract those serpents long enough so at least one of us can smurf the magic pellet," Tapper said. The serpents were now banging against the serving cart, trying to get at the Smurfs that were hiding underneath it. Vanity and Sassette huddled together in fear while Tapper continued to look for an opportunity to get the magic pellet while the serpents were distracted. Then with a sweep of a tail, one of the serpents caused the magic pellet to go flying across the room until it struck the petrified Manfred. His form began to glow as it was now becoming breathing flesh again. Soon Manfred was back to being fully human again. Sassette saw the serpents fleeing, and then saw what happened to the Manfred statue. "Flickering fireflies, the magic pellet is working," she cried out as Vanity and Tapper also saw the magic pellet taking effect. "Huh? What's going on here?" Manfred asked as soon as he realized that he was now free from the spell. "There's no time to explain, my good Manfred," Tapper said. "We need to smurf out of here and reunite you with your beloved." "But who are you, and where am I?" Manfred asked, looking around as if to find something that would answer his second question. Then a shrill voice cried out, "Manfred!" Manfred gasped as he saw who else was in the cave with him. "Drusilla!" "So intruders have come to rescue you from me, eh?" Drusilla said, sounding very displeased. "That witch Chlorhydris never gives up. She stole you from me the first time, and now she's trying to steal you from me again with her new friends. Well, this time it's not going to happen, because I'm going to turn you all into stone." She raised up her arm and shot out a bolt of electricity toward Manfred and the three Smurfs, who quickly ducked out of the way. "I honestly don't know what I ever saw in that woman that made me even like her in the first place," Manfred said to the Smurfs as they hid behind the serving cart. "She's certainly not the best-smurfing witch in the world, I can tell you," Vanity said. "If she's truly that spiteful to keep you separated from your true love, Manfred, she will smurf to great lengths to keep her rival miserable," Tapper said. Drusilla then shot another bolt of electricity from her hand, this time destroying the serving cart and exposing Manfred and the Smurfs hiding behind it. Again they tried to hide from her, but Vanity somehow got separated from the others. "Oh no, this isn't how I wanted it to end," Vanity said as Drusilla drew closer to him. "Get ready to be immortalized, pretty little boy," Drusilla said as she raised up her hand again to fire another electrical bolt. Vanity raised up his mirror as if to shield himself from the horrid fate that was going to befall him. The electrical bolt reflected off the mirror and bounced back straight towards Drusilla, who tried to flee but was suddenly transformed into a stone statue. "My, that was really one hard woman to deal with," Vanity said as he looked at the now-petrified Drusilla. "Such a terrible fate for a woman like her whose jealousy smurfed the best of her, my friends," Tapper said. "At the very least, she will not bother anyone else with her magic." "So you three have been sent from my beloved Chlorhydris?" Manfred said. "Oh, I promised that I was going to be at the wedding, and that we were going to raise our child together. I hope that we can still make it in time and that she will forgive me for being so late." "He doesn't know that he's been smurfed here for thirty years," Vanity whispered to Tapper. "What are we going to tell him?" "At the very least, and with as much tact as possible, we must smurf him the truth," Tapper whispered back. "It's only fair that he knows what has happened to him and his beloved." "But will we smurf the two of them ever being happy with each other, Tapper?" Sassette asked. "If Manfred truly loves Chlorhydris for who she is and not just how she smurfs, my little Sassette, then nothing in the world can never smurf between the two of them to take their happiness away," Tapper answered. Manfred and the Smurfs headed for the exit of the cave, but the serpents blocked their departure to make sure nobody left. "Allow me to return the favor," Manfred said as he caused the serpents to flee with a wave of his hands. "Jumping junebugs, you really are a powerful sorcerer," Sassette said, sounding very excited. "I can see why he is called Manfred the Magnificent," Vanity said, feeling his heart being captivated. "He would surely smurf a good husband for the right kind of woman." "Let's make sure that he reunites with his beloved soon to smurf good on our promise to Chlorhydris, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. Smurf to Part 6 Category:Empath the Luckiest Smurf stories Category:The Prisoner Of Stone chapters